A Warm Welcome
by Sorceress Edea
Summary: Late homecomings are sometimes a good thing. Limey and fluffy all over


My first fic on FFN! I'm kinda nervous…   
  
  
A Warm Welcome   
  
  
"Arigato, Omasu" Misao said as Omasu left the bathing area. She slowly  
sank down into the water, letting the water warm her whole body. Omasu had  
added some scented liquid soap into the tub (which was apparently all the  
rage in France) and was now filled to the brim with frothy bubbles. She  
cupped a handful of soap and blew on it, unintentionally showering bubbles  
all over the place.  
  
"Hmph" she murmured to herself, flicking away some bubbles from the top of  
her head. She crossed her arms across her chest. Not a letter, a note, not  
one word! Misao gritted her teeth. One week, she thought. One week, dammit!  
She balled her hand into a fist and pounded it into the water, sending fat  
droplets of water everywhere. "Arrgghhh!" she screamed in frustration,  
standing up from the bathtub. The cold air hit her body, and she quickly  
sat down. Misao sighed, yet again and closed her eyes. Where the hell are  
you? You were supposed to come back a week ago. More importantly, why  
aren't you here? With me? She hung her head in defeat. Maybe you've grown  
tired of me? Have you found...? NO! A voice inside her screamed. Cannot,  
must not think of that possibility! What if it was something else? What if  
he was in trouble? What if...  
  
"Don't come any closer. Not if you value your life," she said, calmly, a  
kunai in one hand, pointing to her right.   
  
"I was wondering how long it was going to take you to detect my presence,"  
said an equally calm, male voice. Misao could hear him step away from the tub.  
  
"You know you walk very lightly. I usually know you're in the room by the  
rustle of your clothes" She answered, not opening her eyes.  
  
"I see." Misao thought she heard him chuckle. "Of course you won't hear me  
come in. I'm not wearing any "   
  
Now she opened her eyes. Well, actually, she cracked one eye open and saw  
he was telling the truth. She then looked up to see his slightly amused face.   
  
"Am I forgiven?"   
  
Misao tossed the kunai aside. Aoshi laughed and stepped into the tub with  
her. He lay down, his back pressed against Misao's breasts, his hips  
cradled between her thighs. Misao wrapped her arms around him, resting her  
chin on his shoulder. They lay in each other's arm for a long time,  
savoring the sensation their bodies pressed against each other, the warmth  
of the water seeping through their bones. The silence around them was  
comfortable, although Misao longed to ask him about what happened. But she  
had seen the look in his eyes - the dark circles under them and the  
exhaustion and weariness etched on his face. She knew she had to see to his  
needs first.  
  
He threaded his fingers through hers then brought her hand to his lips.  
"I'm sorry," he brushed his lips against her knuckles " the business in  
Osaka got a bit out of hand. There was no time to send a message"  
  
"I hope everything turned out well"  
  
"I'm glad you're not angry" he smiled, looking at her.  
  
She wrinkled her nose at him "I *was* angry, but I was really more worried  
than mad" she placed her cheek against his "I don't know what I'd do if  
something ever..." she choked, not able to continue, and lowered her head.  
  
Aoshi raised her chin with his finger and kissed her squarely on the  
mouth, his lips caressing hers. He flipped over, splashing water over the  
rim of the tub. He gathered her into his arms and stepped out of the now  
lukewarm water.  
  
"Aoshi-" she started to protest, but was cut off by yet another kiss.   
  
"Shhh," he set her on the floor "Hold that thought". He quickly grabbed a  
large towel from the nearby rack and laid it on the ground. Aoshi swept her  
off her feet, Misao shrieking in surprise as she was gently put on the  
towel. He took another towel and wiped off the water and bubbles that clung  
to her body, the soft cloth touching her body intimately. Afterwards, he  
tossed the towel aside and slowly came down on top of her.  
  
"Hmmm..." he kissed her neck, "you smell wonderful"  
  
"I think t-that's l-l-lavander" she stuttered, "It was in the soap that  
Omasu gave me..." she held her breath as his teeth grazed just below her  
ear. Then, his open lips pressed against her pulse, sucking on the soft  
flesh. She struggled to regain her voice. "A-Aoshi, remember the l-l-last  
time we tried this?"  
  
"Of course I do" he said mischievously.   
  
That had been a few months ago, a few days after their wedding. Everyone  
in the Aoiya thought that the happy couple would never leave their room,  
since they had shown no signs of doing so during the last three days. So,  
imagine the shock on a certain Okina's face when he walked into the bathing  
area one morning and found the Okashira and his new wife in a  
certain...ah...position in the tub. A shrill of surprise filled the air -  
Misao's as she jumped up in surprise. Aoshi joined Misao with his own  
scream of agony, Misao hitting him at a certain sensitive part (his nose).  
To top it all off, everyone had thought of taking a bath that morning, so  
four other people filled the doorway, witnessing the entire thing.  
  
"I never thought our lovemaking would ever cause bloodshed" Misao giggled,  
remembering her husband's bloody nose.  
  
"Don't worry" he traced her cheek with his finger "This time I made sure  
everyone knew what we were up to before I came in here"  
  
"YOU WHAT?" she asked indignantly, her cheeks flaming at the thought that  
everyone knew that they were going to...  
  
"Are you blushing, kirei, after all this time?" he nuzzled her soft belly,  
pinning her wrists to the ground beside her "I still must be doing  
something wrong..."  
  
********************  
  
  
Later, completely sated, Aoshi held the woman he loved close in his arms.  
It was, after all, a luxury he hadn't been able to indulge in these past  
few weeks. However, it was the long periods of time he was away that made  
their lives more exciting somehow. His position as Okashira demanded many  
"business trips", and he was always reluctant to leave his Misao. He  
couldn't wait to come back to her. Whether he was gone for three days or  
three weeks, their bodies seemed to hunger for each other, as their hearts  
ached for one another too. When he did arrive home, she would always end up  
putting everything aside and welcome him home by making passionate love.  
  
"Aishiteru, Misao" Aoshi murmured against Misao's ear. He covered her  
body with his again, nibbling a path from her mouth to her slender neck.  
Shivers of pleasure ran down her spine as Misao's hand roamed over his  
muscular back.   
  
"I should come home naked more often" he said, his hand moving slowly up  
her thigh.  
  
A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Whatever rocks your boat,  
anata. But I hope you won't cause a scandal when you walk into Kyoto in  
your birthday suit"  
  
"I'll run real fast" he joked, biting her ear.   
  
"You should," Misao said, giving him a saucy grin. She flipped him over,  
so she was on top, straddling his hips. She ran her hands up and down his  
battle-scarred chest. "You definitely should"  
  
  
  



End file.
